Leukaemia op boy fights back (From The Advertiser Series)

Leukaemia op boy fights back

11:39am Thursday 5th November 2009

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A TEENAGE leukaemia patient and his family have helped to raise more than £4,000 for a charity helping fellow cancer sufferers.

Sporty 14-year-old Harvey Gaydon has already returned to the tennis court and is looking forward to getting back to school just seven months after a lifesaving bone marrow transplant.

Harvey, of the Blackwell area of Darlington, needed the transplant in April after an extensive course of chemotherapy failed to cure his second bout of leukaemia.

The youngster, who attends Hummersknott School, was diagnosed with the disease at the age of seven but suffered a relapse last November.

He is now recovering from a dose of swine flu and hopes to return to the classroom after Christmas.

He is receiving private tuition and has taken up sport again. Although not well enough enough to play rugby, he has picked up his tennis racket again.

Harvey said: “I get tired quicker and I am weaker but I feel very well generally.”

After the operation, Harvey spent a number of weeks in isolation but since his return home he has received support from family, friends and nursing staff.

The family described the support they had received as “overwhelming”.

Harvey’s father Stuart, who coaches tennis, said: “We would like to thank all the members of New Blackwell and Wellfield Tennis Clubs for all the support.

“Harvey’s friends have been amazing. For teenagers, they come round on a weekly basis. They really make an effort.”

The family, including Harvey’s brother Rory, 11, have raised £2,040 for the Teenage Cancer Trust unit at Newcastle Royal Victoria Infirmary, a figure which was doubled by Barclays Bank.

Some of the money was raised when Stuart and Caroline’s band, Nightshift, played a gig at the Forum Music Centre, in Darlington.

● A woman fighting a rare form of leukaemia is helping to raise awareness of the condition.

Allison White, 32, of Newton Aycliffe, was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) in July after suffering fatigue and heavy bruising.

She and her family, who have lost two relatives to the disease, are staying positive by raising awareness and supporting research into blood cancers.

While she was in hospital, friends and family held a fundraising event in aid of Leukaemia Research UK, which raised £2,300.

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